Opportunities in the Microencapsulated Food Ingredients Market

SUMMARY

Changing Food Trends Offer Significant Opportunities

Microencapsulation is increasingly attracting the attention of food ingredients companies as a way of achieving much-needed differentiation and enhancing product value. Since food manufacturers routinely track consumer trends and tastes, food ingredients companies are constantly looking to develop innovative products that help meet these changing needs. New and advanced microencapsulation technologies offer them the opportunity to do this since they enable the use of previously difficult-to-use ingredients. At the same time, food manufacturers need to introduce novel product lines to address complex consumer requirements as well as growing competition from supermarkets selling their own brand products. One way of achieving this is by using ingredients or processes that enhance a product in some way, such as a new flavor or a health benefit, and microencapsulation is an ideal tool to achieve this.

This Frost & Sullivan research service presents and analyses key growth opportunities for microencapsulation in the food ingredients market. It discusses major technology developments and their implications for food ingredients companies. The study also highlights key benefits of microencapsulation as well as important consumer trends that are driving such companies to increasingly use this technology.

Rising Trend towards Functional Foods Promotes Use of Microencapsulation

With the increasing consumer interest in functional foods, food companies are looking to incorporate new and health-enhancing ingredients. "The growing functional foods market is the major driving force behind microencapsulation innovation," observes the analyst of this research service. "Microencapsulation offers food companies a viable means of penetrating this lucrative growth sector because it has the ability to mask the taste associated with some of these ingredients, allowing firms to include these ingredients in many more products than before." Microencapsulating minerals or vitamins in an appetising application can help children get their recommended intake of these supplements.

Recent developments in microencapsulation are helping promote their potential in the food ingredients market further. For instance, the encapsulation of probiotics in hydrocolloid beads is helping improve their survival rate right through processing and digestion. Other new microencapsulation methods are enabling food manufacturers to incorporate Omega 3 fatty acids in food products.

Growing Demand for Convenience Food by Health-conscious Consumers

While consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious, Frost & Sullivan's research service has revealed that they are unwilling to compromise on taste. Microencapsulation provides food manufacturers the chance to offer consumers healthy food that tastes good. "New developments in microencapsulation, targeted in particular at the highly lucrative children's market, have meant that chewing gum and candies can be fortified," says the analyst. "Moreover, the encapsulation of sweeteners can reduce their hygroscopicity, improve their flowability and prolong their properties."

Microencapsulation can also help food companies capitalise on the growing convenience food market without compromising on quality. For example, in home-baked pizza products, sodium bicarbonate can be encapsulated to prevent early release of the bicarbonate and delay the reaction of the leavening phosphate until the crust reaches a particular temperature in the oven.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1. Executive Summary
  • 1. Overview of the Microencapsulation Market
    • 1. Overview of the Microencapsulation Market
• 2. Microencapsulation Technologies
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Technology Analysis
    • 1. Spray Drying
    • 2. Cold Dehydration Process
    • 3. Spray-Chilling
    • 4. Pan Coating
    • 5. Fluid Bed Coating
    • 6. Co-extrusion Process
    • 7. Emulsion Evaporation
    • 8. Evaporative Dispersion Process
    • 9. Spinning Disk
    • 10. Coacervation
    • 11. Inclusion Complexation
  • 3. Technical Challenges
    • 1. Technical Challenges
  • 4. Strategic Opportunities
    • 1. Strategic Opportunities
  • 5. Market Drivers
    • 1. Market Drivers
      • a. Increased Consumption of Processed Foods
      • b. Rapid Growth in the Functional Food Market
      • c. Drive for Brand Differentiation Increases Use of Microencapsulated Ingredients
      • d. Consumer Demand for Natural Food Products
      • e. Microencapsulation Reduces Amount of Ingredient Required
      • f. Complexity of Technical Requirements Creates Opportunities for Specialist Companies
      • g. Tightening of Laws on Product Claims Forces Companies to Use Microencapsulation
      • h. New Product Development Creates More Opportunities
  • 6. Market Restraints
    • 1. Market Restraints
      • a. Communication Breakdown
      • b. Cost
      • c. Economics of the Food Industry
      • d. Timescale
      • e. Competition
      • f. Economic Woes Contract Pool of Potential Investors
  • 7. Competitive Analysis
    • 1. Competitive Analysis
• 3. Food Ingredients Industry
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Competitive Structure
    • 1. Competitive Structure
  • 3. Top Five Food Ingredient Companies
    • 1. Top Five Food Ingredient Companies
  • 4. Regulations
    • 1. Regulations
  • 5. Driving Innovation
    • 1. Driving Innovation
  • 6. Restraining Innovation
    • 1. Restraining Innovation
  • 7. Food Ingredients and Microencapsulation: Intersecting Issues
    • 1. Food Ingredients and Microencapsulation - Intersecting Issues
  • 8. Which Technology Should I Choose?
    • 1. Which Technology Should I Choose?
• 4. Flavour Masking
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Top Ten Fragrance and Flavour Firms
    • 1. Top Ten Fragrance and Flavour Firms
  • 3. Challenges
    • 1. Challenges
  • 4. Opportunities
    • 1. Opportunities
  • 5. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
    • 1. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solution
• 5. Targeted and Protected Nutrition
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Challenges
    • 1. Challenges
  • 3. Opportunities
    • 1. Opportunities
  • 4. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
    • 1. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
• 6. Shelf Life Extension
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Challenges
    • 1. Challenges
  • 3. Opportunities
    • 1. Opportunities
  • 4. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
    • 1. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
• 7. Time Release Applications
  • 1. Time Release and Flavour Enhancement
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Time Release Applications
    • 1. Time Release Applications
  • 3. Challenges
    • 1. Challenges
  • 4. Opportunities
    • 1. Opportunities
  • 5. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
    • 1. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
• 8. Production Efficiencies
  • 1. Overview
    • 1. Overview
  • 2. Challenges
    • 1. Challenges
  • 3. Opportunities
    • 1. Opportunities
  • 4. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
    • 1. Microencapsulated Ingredient Solutions
• 9. Decision Support Databases
  • 1. Databases
    • 1. Bread Exports
    • 2. Bread Imports
    • 3. Butter Production
    • 4. Frozen Food Production
    • 5. Consumer Expenditure